Process for forming a composite elastic necked-bonded material

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a composite elastic necked-bonded material including at least one necked material joined to at least one elastic sheet. The composite elastic necked-bonded material is stretchable in a direction generally parallel to the direction of constriction or necking of the necked material. Also disclosed is a method of producing a composite elastic necked-bonded material by necking a neckable material and then joining the necked material to an elastic sheet.

This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 07/248,518,filed on Sep. 23, 1988 is now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to elasticized materials and a method ofmaking the same. Generally speaking, the present invention relates to acomposite elastic material including at least one elastic sheet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic nonwoven webs formed by nonwoven extrusion processes such as,for example, meltblowing processes and spunbonding processes may bemanufactured into products and components of products so inexpensivelythat the products could be viewed as disposable after only one or a fewuses. Representatives of such products include diapers, tissues, wipes,garments, mattress pads and feminine care products.

Some of the problems in this area are the provision of an elasticmaterial which is resilient and flexible while still having a pleasingfeel. One problem is the provision of an elastic material which does notfeel plastic or rubbery. The properties of the elastic materials can beimproved by forming a laminate of an elastic material with one or morenonelastic material on the outer surface which provide better tactileproperties.

Nonwoven webs formed from nonelastic polymers such as, for example,polypropylene are generally considered nonelastic. The lack ofelasticity usually restricts these nonwoven web materials toapplications where elasticity is not required or desirable. Compositematerials of elastic and nonelastic material have been made by bondingthe nonelastic material to the elastic material in a manner that allowsthe entire composite material to stretch or elongate so they can be usedin garment materials, pads, diapers and feminine care products.

In one such composite material, a nonelastic material is joined to anelastic material while the elastic material is in a stretched conditionso that when the elastic material is relaxed, the nonelastic materialgathers between the locations where it is bonded to the elasticmaterial. The resulting composite elastic material is stretchable to theextent that the nonelastic material gathered between the bond locationsallows the elastic material to elongate. An example of this type ofcomposite material is disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,415to Vander Wielen et al., issued Jan. 19, 1988.

DEFINITIONS

The term "elastic" is used herein to mean any material which, uponapplication of a biasing force, is stretchable, that is, elongatable, toa stretched, biased length which is at least about 160 percent of itsrelaxed unbiased length, and which, will recover at least 55 percent ofits elongation upon release of the stretching, elongating force. Ahypothetical example would be a one (1) inch sample of a material whichis elongatable to at least 1.60 inches and which, upon being elongatedto 1.60 inches and released, will recover to a length of not more than1.27 inches. Many elastic materials may be stretched by much more than60 percent of their relaxed length, for example, 100 percent or more,and many of these will recover to substantially their original relaxedlength, for example, to within 105 percent of their original relaxedlength, upon release of the stretching force.

As used herein, the term "nonelastic" refers to any material which doesnot fall within the definition of "elastic," above.

As used herein, the term "recover" refers to a contraction of astretched material upon termination of a biasing force followingstretching of the material by application of the biasing force. Forexample, if a material having a relaxed, unbiased length of one (1) inchis elongated 50 percent by stretching to a length of one and one half(1.5) inches the material would be elongated 50 percent (0.5 inch) andwould have a stretched length that is 150 percent of its relaxed length.If this exemplary stretched material contracted, that is recovered to alength of one and one tenth (1.1) inches after release of the biasingand stretching force, the material would have recovered 80 percent (0.4inch) of its one-half (0.5) inch elongation. Recovery may be expressedas [(maximum stretch length-final sample length)/(maximum stretchlength-initial sample length)]×100.

As used herein, the term "nonwoven web" means a web that has a structureof individual fibers or threads which are interlaid, but not in anidentifiable, repeating manner. Nonwoven webs have been, in the past,formed by a variety of processes such as, for example, meltblowingprocesses, spunbonding processes and bonded carded web processes.

As used herein, the term "microfibers" means small diameter fibershaving an average diameter not greater than about 100 microns, forexample, having a diameter of from about 0.5 microns to about 50microns, more particularly, microfibers may have an average diameter offrom about 4 microns to about 40 microns.

As used herein, the term "meltblown fibers" means fibers formed byextruding a molten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine,usually circular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into ahigh velocity gas (e.g. air) stream which attenuates the filaments ofmolten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameter, which may be tomicrofiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers are carried by thehigh velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collecting surface toform a web of randomly disbursed meltblown fibers. Such a process isdisclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 to Butin, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

As used herein, the term "spunbonded fibers" refers to small diameterfibers which are formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material asfilaments from a plurality of fine, usually circular, capillaries of aspinnerette with the diameter of the extruded filaments then beingrapidly reduce as by, for example, eductive drawing or other well-knownspunbonding mechanisms. The production of spunbonded nonwoven webs isillustrated in patents such as, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,563to Appel et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner et al. Thedisclosures of both these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.

As used herein, the term "interfiber bonding" means bonding produced byentanglement between individual fibers to form a coherent web structurewithout the use of thermal bonding. This fiber entangling is inherent inthe meltblown processes but may be generated or increased by processessuch as, for example, hydraulic entangling or needlepunching.Alternatively and/or additionally, a bonding agent can be utilized toincrease the desired bonding and to maintain structural coherency of afibrous web. For example, powdered bonding agents and chemical solventbonding may be used.

As used herein, the term "sheet" means a layer which may either be afilm or a nonwoven web.

As used herein, the term "necked material" refers to any material whichhas been narrowed in at least one dimension by application of atensioning force.

As used herein, the term "neckable material" means any material whichcan be necked.

As used herein, the term "percent neckdown" refers to the ratiodetermined by measuring the difference between the un-necked dimensionand the necked dimension of the neckable material and then dividing thatdifference by the un-necked dimension of the neckable material.

As used herein, the term "composite elastic necked-bonded material"refers to a material having an elastic sheet joined to a necked materialat least at two places. The elastic sheet may be joined to the neckedmaterial at intermittent points or may be completely bonded thereto. Thejoining is accomplished while the elastic sheet and the necked materialare in juxtaposed configuration. The composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial is elastic in a direction generally parallel to the directionof neckdown of the necked material and may be stretched in thatdirection to the breaking point of the necked material. A compositeelastic necked-bonded material may include more than two layers. Forexample, the elastic sheet may have necked material joined to both ofits sides so that a three-layer composite elastic necked-bonded materialis formed having a structure of necked material/elastic sheet/neckedmaterial. Additional elastic sheets and/or necked material layers may beadded. Yet other combinations of elastic sheets and necked materials maybe used.

As used herein, the term "palindromic laminate" means a multilayerlaminate, for example, a composite elastic necked-bonded material whichis substantially symmetrical. Exemplary palindromic laminates would havelayer configurations of A/B/A, A/B/B/A, A/A/B/B/A/A, etc. Exemplarynon-palindromic laminates would have layer configurations of A/B/C,A/B/C/A, A/C/B/D, etc.

As used herein, the term "polymer" generally includes, but is notlimited to, homopolymers, copolymers, such as, for example, block,graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc. and blendsand modifications thereof. Furthermore, unless otherwise specificallylimited, the term "polymer" shall include all possible geometricalconfigurations of the material. These configurations include, but arenot limited to, isotactic, syndiotactic and random symmetries.

As used herein, the term "consisting essentially of" does not excludethe presence of additional materials which do not significantly affectthe desired characteristics of a given composition or product. Exemplarymaterials of this sort would include, without limitation, pigments,antioxidants, stabilizers, surfactants, waxes, flow promoters, solvents,particulates and materials added to enhance processability of thecomposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method ofproducing a composite elastic necked-bonded material including one ormore layers of necked material joined to one or more layers of elasticsheet, the method comprising:

applying a tensioning force to at least one neckable material to neckthe material; and

joining the tensioned, necked material to at least one elastic sheet atleast at two locations.

The elastic sheet and the reversibly necked material may be joined byoverlaying the materials and applying heat and/or pressure to theoverlaid materials. Alternatively, the layers may by joined by usingother bonding methods and materials such as, for example, adhesives,pressure sensitive adhesives, ultrasonic welding, high energy electronbeams, and/or lasers. In one aspect of the present invention, theelastic sheet may be formed directly on the necked material utilizingprocesses, such as, for example, meltblowing processes and filmextrusion processes.

The necked material used as a component of the composite elasticnecked-bonded material is formed from a neckable material. If thematerial is stretchable, it may be necked by stretching in a directiongenerally perpendicular to the desired direction of neck-down. Theneckable material may be any material that can be necked and joined toan elastic sheet. Such neckable materials include knitted and looselywoven fabrics, bonded carded webs, spunbonded webs or meltblown webs.The meltblown web may include meltblown microfibers. The neckablematerial may also have multiple layers such as, for example, multiplespunbonded layers and/or multiple meltblown layers. The neckablematerial may be made of polymers such as, for example, polyolefins.Exemplary polyolefins include polypropylene, polyethylene, ethylenecopolymers and propylene copolymers.

The elastic sheet may be a pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet.If the elastic sheet is nonwoven web of elastic fibers or pressuresensitive elastomer adhesive fibers, the fibers may be meltblown fibers.More particularly, the meltblown fibers may be meltblown microfibers.

Other aspects of this invention provide that the pressure sensitiveelastomer adhesive sheet and necked material may be joined without theapplication of heat such as, for example, by a pressure bonderarrangement or by tensioned wind-up techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process for forminga composite elastic necked-bonded material.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an exemplary neckable material beforetensioning and necking.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of an exemplary necked material.

FIG. 2B is a plan view of an exemplary composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial while partially stretched.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process for forminga composite elastic necked-bonded material using a tensioned wind-upmethod.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process for forminga composite elastic necked-bonded material by meltblowing an elastic webbetween two necked material layers.

FIG. 5 is a representation of an exemplary bonding pattern used to joincomponents of a composite elastic necked-bonded material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings there is schematically illustratedat 10 a process for forming a composite elastic necked-bonded material.

According to the present invention, a neckable material 12 is unwoundfrom a supply roll 14 and travels in the direction indicated by thearrow associated therewith as the supply roll 14 rotates in thedirection of the arrows associated therewith. The neckable material 12passes through a nip 16 of the drive roller arrangement 18 formed by thedrive rollers 20 and 22.

The neckable material 12 may be formed by known nonwoven extrusionprocesses, such as, for example, known meltblowing processes or knownspunbonding processes, and passed directly through the nip 16 withoutfirst being stored on a supply roll.

An elastic sheet 32 is unwound from a supply roll 34 and travels in thedirection indicated by the arrow associated therewith as the supply roll34 rotates in the direction of the arrows associated therewith. Theelastic sheet passes through the nip 24 of the bonder roller arrangement26 formed by the bonder rollers 28 and 30. The elastic sheet 32 may beformed by extrusion processes such as, for example, meltblowingprocesses or film extrusion processes and passed directly through thenip 24 without first being stored on a supply roll.

The neckable material 12 passes through the nip 16 of the S-rollarrangement 18 in a reverse-S path as indicated by the rotationdirection arrows associated with the stack rollers 20 and 22. From theS-roll arrangement 18, the neckable material 12 passes through thepressure nip 24 formed by a bonder roller arrangement 26. Because theperipheral linear speed of the rollers of the S-roll arrangement 18 iscontrolled to be less than the peripheral linear speed of the rollers ofthe bonder roller arrangement 26, the neckable material 12 is tensionedbetween the S-roll arrangement 18 and the pressure nip of the bonderroll arrangement 26. By adjusting the difference in the speeds of therollers, the neckable material 12 is tensioned so that it necks adesired amount and is maintained in such tensioned, necked conditionwhile the elastic sheet 32 is joined to the necked material 12 duringtheir passage through the bonder roller arrangement 26 to form acomposite elastic necked-bonded laminate 40.

Other methods of tensioning the neckable material 12 may be used suchas, for example, tenter frames or other cross-machine directionstretcher arrangements that expand the neckable material 12 in otherdirections such as, for example, the cross-machine direction so that,after bonding to the elastic sheet 32, the resulting composite elasticnecked-bonded material 40 will be elastic in a direction generallyparallel to the direction of necking, i.e., in the machine direction.

The neckable material 12 may be a nonwoven material such as, forexample, spunbonded web, meltblown web or bonded carded web. If theneckable material is a web of meltblown fibers, it may include meltblownmicrofibers. The neckable material 12 may be made of fiber formingpolymers such as, for example, polyolefins. Exemplary polyolefinsinclude one or more of polypropylene, polyethylene, ethylene copolymers,propylene copolymers, and butene copolymers. Useful polypropylenesinclude, for example, polypropylene available from the HimontCorporation under the trade designation PC-973, polypropylene availablefrom the Exxon Chemical Company under the trade designation Exxon 3445,and polypropylene available from the Shell Chemical Company under thetrade designation DX 5A09.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the neckable material 12 isa multilayer material having, for example, at least one layer ofspunbonded web joined to at least one layer of meltblown web, bondedcarded web or other suitable material. For example, neckable material 12may be a multilayer material having a first layer of spunbondedpolypropylene having a basis weight from about 0.2 to about 8 ounces persquare yard (osy), a layer of meltblown polypropylene having a basisweight from about 0.2 to about 4 osy, and a second layer of spunbondedpolypropylene having a basis weight of about 0.2 to about 8 osy.Alternatively, the neckable material 12 may be single layer of materialsuch as, for example, a spunbonded web having a basis weight of fromabout 0.2 to about 10 osy or a meltblown web having a basis weight offrom about 0.2 to about 8 osy.

The neckable material 12 may also be a composite material made of amixture of two or more different fibers or a mixture of fibers andparticulates. Such mixtures may be formed by adding fibers and/orparticulates to the gas stream in which meltblown fibers are carried sothat an intimate entangled commingling of meltblown fibers and othermaterials, e.g., wood pulp, staple fibers and particulates such as, forexample, hydrocolloid (hydrogel) particulates commonly referred to assuperabsorbant materials, occurs prior to collection of the meltblownfibers upon a collecting device to form a coherent web of randomlydispersed meltblown fibers and other materials such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,100,324, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

If the neckable material 12 is a nonwoven web of fibers, the fibersshould be joined by interfiber bonding to form a coherent web structurewhich is able to withstand necking. Interfiber bonding may be producedby entanglement between individual meltblown fibers. The fiberentangling is inherent in the meltblown process but may be generated orincreased by processes such as, for example, hydraulic entangling orneedlepunching. Alternatively and/or additionally a bonding agent may beused to increase the desired bonding.

The elastic sheet 32 may be made from any material which may bemanufactured in sheet form. Generally, any suitable elastomeric fiberforming resins or blends containing the same may be utilized for thenonwoven webs of elastomeric fibers of the invention and any suitableelastomeric film forming resins or blends containing the same may beutilized for the elastomeric films of the invention.

For example, the elastic sheet 12 may be made from block copolymershaving the general formula A-B-A' where A and A' are each athermoplastic polymer endblock which contains a styrenic moiety such asa poly (vinyl arene) and where B is an elastomeric polymer midblock suchas a conjugated diene or a lower alkene polymer. The elastic sheet 32may be formed from, for example,(polystyrene/poly(ethylene-butylene)/polystyrene) block copolymersavailable from the Shell Chemical Company under the trademark KRATON G.One such block copolymer may be, for example, KRATON G-1657.

Other exemplary elastomeric materials which may be used to form elasticsheet 32 include polyurethane elastomeric materials such as, forexample, those available under the trademark ESTANE from B. F. Goodrich& Co., polyamide elastomeric materials such as, for example, thoseavailable under the trademark PEBAX from the Rilsan Company, andpolyester elastomeric materials such as, for example, those availableunder the trade designation Hytrel from E. I. DuPont De Nemours &Company. Formation of elastic sheets from polyester elastic materials isdisclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,949 to Morman et al.,hereby incorporated by reference.

A polyolefin may also be blended with the elastomeric polymer to improvethe processability of the composition. The polyolefin must be one which,when so blended and subjected to an appropriate combination of elevatedpressure and elevated temperature conditions, is extrudable, in blendedform, with the elastomeric polymer. Useful blending polyolefin materialsinclude, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene and polybutene,including ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers and butenecopolymers. A particularly useful polyethylene may be obtained from theU.S.I. Chemical Company under the trade designation Petrothaene NA601(also referred to herein as PE NA601 or polyethylene NA601). Two or moreof the polyolefins may be utilized. Extrudable blends of elastomericpolymers and polyolefins are disclosed in, for example., U.S. Pat. No.4,663,220 to Wisneski et al., hereby incorporated by reference.

The elastic sheet 32 may also be a pressure sensitive elastomer adhesivesheet. For example, the elastic material itself may be tacky or,alternatively, a compatible tackifying resin may be added to theextrudable elastomeric compositions described above to provide anelastomeric sheet that can act as a pressure sensitive adhesive, e.g.,to bond the elastomeric sheet to a tensioned, necked nonelastic web. Inregard to the tackifying resins and tackified extrudable elastomericcompositions, note the resins and compositions as described in U.S. Pat.No. 4,789,699 filed Oct. 15, 1986 of J. S. Keiffer and T. J. Wisneskifor "Ambient Temperature Bondable Elastomeric Nonwoven Web", thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Any tackifier resin can be used which is compatible with the elastomericpolymer and can withstand the high processing (e.g., extrusion)temperatures. If blending materials such as, for example, polyolefins orextending oils are used, the tackifier resin should also be compatiblewith those blending materials. Generally, hydrogenated hydrocarbonresins are preferred tackifying resins, because of their bettertemperature stability. REGALREZ™ and ARKON™ P series tackifiers areexamples of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins. ZONATAK™501 lite is anexample of a terpene hydrocarbon. REGALREZ hydrocarbon resins areavailable from Hercules Incorporated. ARKON P series resins areavailable from Arakawa Chemical (U.S.A.) Incorporated. Of course, thepresent invention is not limited to use of such three tackifyingresins., and other tackifying resins which are compatible with the othercomponents of the composition and can withstand the high processingtemperatures, can also be used.

A pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive may include, for example, fromabout 40 to about 80 percent by weight elastomeric polymer, from about 5to about 40 percent polyolefin and from about 5 to about 40 percentresin tackifier. For example, a particularly useful compositionincluded, by weight, about 61 to about 65 percent KRATON G-1657, about17 to about 23 percent Polyethylene NA-601, and about 15 to about 20percent REGALREZ 1126.

The elastic sheet 32 may also be a multilayer material in that it mayinclude two or more individual coherent webs or films. Additionally, theelastic sheet 12 may be a multilayer material in which one or more ofthe layers contain a mixture of elastic and nonelastic fibers orparticulates. An example of the latter type of elastic web, reference ismade to U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,563, incorporated herein by reference, inwhich elastomeric and non-elastomeric fibers are commingled to form asingle coherent web of randomly dispersed fibers. Another example ofsuch a composite web would be one made by a technique such as disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,324 issued Jul. 11, 1978 to Richard A. Andersonet al., and also incorporated herein by reference. That patent disclosesa nonwoven material which includes a mixture of meltblown thermoplasticfibers and other materials. The fibers and other materials are combinedin the gas stream in which the meltblown fibers are borne so that anintimate entangled commingling of meltblown fibers and other materials,e.g., wood pulp, staple fibers or particulates such as, for example,hydrocolloid (hydrogel) particulates commonly referred to assuper-absorbents occurs prior to collection of the fibers upon acollecting device to form a coherent web of randomly dispersed fibers.

The bonder roller arrangement 26 may be a smooth calender roller 28 anda smooth anvil roller 30 or may include a patterned calender roller,such as, for example, a pin embossing roller arranged with a smoothanvil roller. One or both of the calender roller and the smooth anvilroller may be heated and the pressure between these two rollers may beadjusted by well-known means to provide the desired temperature, if any,and bonding pressure to join the necked material 12 to the elastic sheet32 forming a composite elastic necked-bonded material 40.

The necked material and the elastic sheet may be completely bondedtogether and still provide a composite elastic necked-bonded materialwith good stretch properties. That is, a composite elastic material maybe formed by joining a necked material to an elastic sheet utilizingbonding surfaces such as, for example, smooth rollers or platens toprovide a high bond surface area. A composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial 40 may also be formed utilizing a bonding pattern such as, forexample, the sinusoidal bonding pattern shown in FIG. 6. That patternhas approximately 75 pins per square inch with each pin about 0.059inches in diameter, providing a bond surface area of about 20.5 percent.

Necked materials may be joined to the elastic sheet 32 at least at twoplaces by any suitable means such as, for example, thermal bonding orultrasonic welding which softens at least portions of at least one ofthe materials, usually the elastic sheet because the elastomericmaterials used for forming the elastic sheet 32 have a lower softeningpoint than the components of the necked material 12. Joining may beproduced by applying heat and/or pressure to the overlaid elastic sheet32 and the necked material 12 by heating these portions (or the overlaidlayer) to at least the softening temperature of the material with thelowest softening temperature to form a reasonably strong and permanentbond between the re-solidified softened portions of the elastic sheet 32and the necked material 12.

Elastic sheets can be used having basis weights less than 0.5 osy(ounces per square yard), for example, from about 0.25 to about 0.4 osy.Such extremely low basis weight sheets are useful for economic reasons,particularly for use in disposable products. Additionally, elasticsheets having higher basis weights such as, for example, from about 0.5to about 10 osy may also be used.

With regard to thermal bonding, one skilled in the art will appreciatethat the temperature to which the materials, or at least the bond sitesthereof, are heated for heat-bonding will depend not only on thetemperature of the heated roll(s) or other heat sources but on theresidence time of the materials on the heated surfaces, the basisweights of the materials and their specific heats and thermalconductivities. However, for a given combination of materials, and inview of the herein contained disclosure the processing conditionsnecessary to achieve satisfactory bonding can be readily determined byone of skill in the art.

Conventional drive means and other conventional devices which may beutilized in conjunction with the apparatus of FIG. 1 are well known and,for purposes of clarity, have not been illustrated in the schematic viewof FIG. 1.

The relation between the original dimensions of the neckable material 12to its dimensions after tensioning determines the approximate limits ofstretch of composite elastic necked-bonded material. Because theneckable material 12 is able to stretch and return to its neckeddimensions in directions such as, for example the machine direction orthe cross-machine direction, the composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial will be stretchable in generally the same direction as theneckable material 12.

For example, with reference to FIGS. 2, 2A, and 2B, if it is desired toprepare a composite elastic necked-bonded material stretchable to a 150%elongation, a width of neckable material shown schematically and notnecessarily to scale in FIG. 2 having a width "A" such as, for example,250 cm, is tensioned so that it necks down to a width "B" of about 100cm. The necked material shown in FIG. 2A is then joined to an elasticsheet (not shown) having a width of approximately 100 cm and which is atleast stretchable to a width of 250 cm. The resulting composite elasticnecked-bonded material shown schematically and not necessarily to scalein FIG. 2B has a width "B" of about 100 cm and is stretchable to atleast the original 250 cm width "A" of the neckable material for anelongation of about 150%. As can be seen from the example, the elasticlimit of the elastic sheet needs only to be as great as the minimumdesired elastic limit of the composite elastic necked-bonded material.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, there is schematicallyillustrated at 50 an exemplary process for forming a composite elasticnecked-bonded material by a tensioned wind-up method. A first neckablematerial 52 is unwound from a supply roll 54 and a second neckablematerial 82 is unwound from a supply roll 84. The neckable materials 52and 82 then travel in the direction indicated by the arrows associatedtherewith as the supply rolls 54 and 84 rotate in the direction of thearrows associated therewith. The neckable material 52 then passesthrough the nip 56 of an S-roll arrangement 58 formed by the stackrollers 60 and 62. Likewise, the neckable material 82 passes through thenip 86 of an S-roll arrangement 88 formed by the stack rollers 90 and92. The neckable materials 52 and 82 may be formed by known nonwovenextrusion processes such as, for example, known spunbonding or knownmeltblowing processes and passed through the nips 56 and 86 withoutfirst being stored on supply rolls.

An elastic sheet 72 is unwound from a supply roll 74 and travels in thedirection indicated by the arrow associated therewith as supply roll 74rotates in the direction of the arrows associated therewith. The elasticsheet 72 may be formed by known extrusion processes such as, forexample, known meltblowing processes or known film extrusion processeswithout first being stored on a supply roll.

The neckable material 52 then passes through a nip 56 of an S-rollarrangement 58 in a reverse-S wrap path as indicated by the rotationdirection of the arrows associated with the stack rollers 60 and 62.Likewise, the neckable material 82 passes through a nip 86 of an S-rollarrangement 88 in a reverse-S wrap path as indicated by the rotationdirection arrows associated with the stack rollers 90 and 92. Becausethe peripheral linear speeds of the rollers of the S-roll arrangements58 and 88 are controlled to be lower than the peripheral linear speed ofthe rollers of the wind-up roll 94, the neckable materials 52 and 82 arenecked and tensioned so that they sandwich the elastic sheet 72 as theyare wound up on the wind-up roll 94.

A two layer composite in which one side of the elastic sheet isprotected to prevent bonding (e.g., covered with a plastic film) may beformed by the above-described method. Multilayer materials havingmultiple layers of elastic sheet and multiple layers of necked materialsuch as, for example, palindromic laminates, may also be formed by thesame method. The roll of material on the wind-up roll 94 may be heatedto soften the elastic sheet so that the layers join to form a compositeelastic necked-bonded material.

Alternatively, a necked material and a pressure sensitive elastomeradhesive sheet such as, for example, a pressure sensitive elastomeradhesive web of meltblown fibers may be joined by the above-describedtensioned wind-up method. In that case, tension from the necked materialprovides pressure to activate the pressure sensitive elastomer adhesivesheet so that the layers join forming a composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial.

The above-described tensioned wind-up bonding methods are suited for lowbasis weight elastomeric sheets. For example, elastic sheets may be usedhaving basis weights less than 0.5 osy (ounces per square yard), forexample, from about 0.25 to about 0.4 osy. Such extremely low basisweight sheets are useful for economic reasons, particularly indisposable products. Additionally, elastic sheets having higher basisweights such as, for example, from about 0.5 to about 10 osy may also beused.

With regard to the bonding pressure utilized when bonding is effected bythe above-described tensioned wind-up method, specification of a bondingpressure does not, in itself, take into account complicating factorssuch as, for example, the bonding compatibility of elastic sheet and thenecked materials and/or the basis weight weights of the materials.Nonetheless, one skilled in the art, taking into account such factorswill readily be able to appropriately select and vary an effectivebonding pressure.

Conventional drive means and other conventional devices which may beutilized in conjunction with the apparatus of FIG. 3 are well known and,for purposes of clarity, have not been illustrated in the schematic viewof FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, there is schematicallyillustrated at 100 an exemplary process for forming a composite elasticmaterial by meltblowing a web of elastic fibers onto a first neckedmaterial, overlaying a second necked material and then joining thelayers with a bonder roller arrangement.

A first neckable material 102 is unwound from a supply roll 104. Theneckable material 102 then travels in the direction indicated by thearrow associated therewith as the supply roll 104 rotates in thedirection of the arrow associated therewith. The neckable material 102then passes through a nip 106 of an S-roll arrangement 108 formed by thestack rollers 110 and 112. The neckable material 102 may be formed bynonwoven extrusion processes, such as, for example, spunbonding ormeltblowing processes, and then passed directly through the nip 106 ofthe S-roll arrangement 108 without first being stored on a supply roll.

The neckable material 102 then passes through the nip 106 of the S-rollarrangement 108 in a reverse S-wrap path as indicated by the rotationdirection arrows associated with the stack rollers 110 and 112. Becausethe peripheral linear speed of the rollers of the S-roll arrangement 108is controlled to be lower than the peripheral linear speed of therollers of the bonder roller arrangement 162, the neckable material 102is tensioned so that it necks a desired amount and is maintained in suchtensioned, necked condition as the elastic sheet 132 is formed directlyon the nonelastic material.

As the necked material 102 passes under the meltblowing processequipment 122, an elastic sheet 132 of meltblown fibers 120 is formeddirectly on the necked material 102. The meltblown fibers 120 ma includemeltblown microfibers.

Generally, any suitable elastomeric fiber forming resins or blendscontaining the same may be utilized for the nonwoven webs of elastomericfibers of the invention and any suitable elastomeric film forming resinsor blends containing the same may be utilized for the elastomeric filmsof the invention.

The elastic sheet 132 of meltblown fibers 120 may be formed fromelastomeric polymers such as, for example, block copolymers having thegeneral formula A-B-A' where A and A' are each a thermoplastic polymerendblock which contains a styrenic moiety such as a poly (vinyl arene)and where B is an elastomeric polymer midblock such as a conjugateddiene or a lower alkene polymer. One such block copolymer may be, forexample, KRATON G-1657.

Other exemplary elastomeric materials which may be used to form theelastic sheet 132 include elastomeric polyester materials, elastomericpolyurethane materials and elastomeric polyamide materials. The elasticsheet 132 may also be a pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet. Forexample, the elastic sheet 132 may be formed from a blend of about 63%by weight KRATON G-1657, 20% polyethylene NA-601, and 17% REGALREZ 1126having a melt flow of from about 12 grams per ten minutes to about 18grams per ten minutes when measured at 190° C. and under a 2160 gramload; an elongation of about 750%; a modulus of elongation at 100% offrom about 155 to about 200 psi; and a modulus of elongation at 300% offrom about 200 to about 250 psi. More particularly, the KRATON G blockcopolymer may have a melt flow of about 15 grams per ten minutes whenmeasured at 190° C. and under a 2160 gram load; an elongation of about750%; a modulus of elongation at 100% of about 175 psi; and a modulus ofelongation at 300% of about 225 psi. Such materials are described, forexample, in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,699 filed Oct. 15,1986 of J. S. Keiffer and T. J. Wisneski for "Ambient TemperatureBondable Elastomeric Nonwoven Web."

Additionally, the elastic sheet 132 may be a composite material in thatit may be made of two or more individual coherent webs or it may be madeof one or more webs individually containing a mixture of elastic andnonelastic fibers. An example of the latter type of elastic web isdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,563. Anotherexample of such a composite web would be one made by a technique such asdisclosed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,324.

A stream of elastomeric meltblown fibers 120 is directed from themeltblowing process equipment 122 on to the necked material 102 at ahigh velocity while the fibers are in a softened state so that bondingand/or entangling occurs between the deposited elastomeric sheet 132 ofmeltblown fibers 120 and the necked material 102.

Generally, the meltblown fibers 120 bond adequately to the neckedmaterial when the fibers have an initial high velocity, for example,from about 300 feet per second to about 1000 feet per second.Additionally, the vertical distance from the forming nozzle 124 of themeltblowing process equipment 122 to the necked material 102 may rangefrom about 4 to about 18 inches. For example, the vertical distance maybe set at about 12 inches. The elastic sheet 132 may also be formed byother known extrusion processes such as, for example, known filmextrusion processes.

A second neckable material 142 is unwound from a supply roll 144. Theneckable material 142 then travels in the direction indicated by thearrow associated therewith as the supply roll 144 rotates in thedirection of the arrow associated therewith. The neckable material 142then passes through a nip 146 of an S-roll arrangement 148 formed by thestack rollers 150 and 152. Alternatively, the neckable material 142 maybe formed by known nonwoven extrusion processes, such as, for example,known spunbonding or known meltblowing processes, and then passeddirectly through the nip 146 of the S-roll arrangement 148 without firstbeing stored on a supply roll.

The neckable material 142 passes through the nip 146 of the S-rollarrangement 148 in a reverse S-wrap path as indicated by the rotationdirection arrows associated with the stack rollers 150 and 152. Becausethe peripheral linear speed of the rollers of the S-roll arrangement 148is controlled to be less than the peripheral linear speed of the rollersof the bonder roller arrangement 162, the neckable material 142 istensioned so that it necks a desired amount and is maintained in suchtensioned, necked condition as it is overlaid on the elastic sheet 132and the necked material 102. The three layers are passed through the nip160 of a bonder roller arrangement 162 to produce a composite elasticnecked bonded material 170 which is wound on a wind-up roll 172.

The bonder roller arrangement 162 may be a patterned calender roller 164arranged with a smooth anvil roller 166. Alternatively, a smoothcalender roller may be used. One or both of the calender roller 164 andthe anvil roller 166 may be heated and the pressure between these tworollers may be adjusted by well-known means to provide the desiredtemperature and bonding pressure. Other methods may be used to join thelayers such as, for example, adhesives, ultrasonic welding, laser beams,and/or high energy electron beams. The bond surface area on thecomposite elastic necked bonded laminate 170 may approach about 100percent and still provide a material with good stretch properties.Alternatively, a bond pattern may be used such as, for example, thesinusoidal dot pattern shown in FIG. 5.

The elastic sheet 132 may also be a pressure sensitive elastomeradhesive sheet such as, for example, a pressure sensitive elastomeradhesive web of meltblown fibers. In such case, joining the neckedmaterial layers 102 and 142 to the pressure sensitive elastomer adhesivesheet 132 may be accomplished by pressure bonding techniques such as,for example, pressure bonder rollers or tensioned wind-up methods.

Conventional drive means and other conventional devices which may beutilized in conjunction with the apparatus of FIG. 4 are well known and,for purposes of clarity, have not been illustrated in the schematic viewof FIG. 4.

EXAMPLES 1-7

The composite elastic necked-bonded materials of examples 1-7 were madeby joining an elastic sheet to at least one necked material. Tables1,3,5,7,8,10,12 and 14 provide Grab Tensile Test data for controlsamples and composite elastic necked-bonded material samples. The GrabTensile Tests were performed on a constant rate of extension tester,Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument, using 4 inch by 6 inchsamples. The following mechanical properties were determined for eachsample: Peak Load, Peak Total Energy Absorbed and Percent Elongation.

The samples were also cycled on the Instron Model 1122 with MicroconII--50 kg load cell and the results reported on Tables 2,4,6,9,11 and13. The jaw faces of the tester were 1 inch by 3 inches so the sampleswere cut to 3 inches by 7 inches (7 inches in the direction to betested) and weighed individually in grams. A 4 inch gauge length wasused. Chart and crosshead speeds were set for 20 inches per minute andthe unit was zeroed, balanced and calibrated according to the standardprocedure. The maximum extension limit for the cycle length was set at adistance determined by calculating 56 percent of the "elongation tobreak" from the Grab Tensile Test. The samples were cycled to thespecified cycle length four times and then were taken to break on thefifth cycle. The test equipment was set to report Peak Load in poundsforce, Peak Elongation in percent and Peak Energy Absorbed in inchpounds force per square inch. The area used in the energy measurements(i.e., the surface area of material tested) is the gauge length (fourinches) times the sample width (3 inches) which equals twelve squareinches. The results of the Grab Tensile tests and cycle tests have beennormalized for measured basis weight.

Peak Total Energy Absorbed (TEA) as used herein is defined as the totalenergy under a stress versus strain (load versus elongation) curve up tothe point of "peak" or maximum load. TEA is expressed in units ofwork/(length)² or (pounds force * inch)/(inches)². These values havebeen normalized by dividing by the basis weight of the sample in ouncesper square yard (osy) which produces units of [(lbs_(f) *inch)/inch²]/osy.

Peak Load as used herein is defined as the maximum load or forceencountered in elongating the sample to break. Peak Load is expressed inunits of force (lbsf) which have been normalized for the basis weight ofthe material resulting in a number expressed in units of lbs_(f) /(osy).

Elongation as used herein is defined as relative increase in length of aspecimen during the tensile test. Elongation is expressed as apercentage, i.e., [(increase in length)/(original length)]×100.

Permanent Set after a stretching cycle as used herein is defined as aratio of the increase in length of the sample after a cycle divided bythe maximum stretch during cycling. Permanent Set is expressed as apercentage, i.e., [(final sample length--initial sample length)/(maximumstretch during cycling--initial sample length)]×100. Permanent Set isrelated to recovery by the expression [permanent set=100=recovery] whenrecovery is expressed as a percentage. In the Tables, the value reportedin the permanent set row at the column titled "To Break" is the valuefor Peak Elongation unless otherwise noted.

EXAMPLE 1 Neckable Spunbonded Material

An neckable web of spunbonded polypropylene having a basis weight ofabout 0.8 ounces per square yard (osy) was tested on an Instron Model1122 Universal Testing Instrument. The results are reported in Tables 1and 2 under the heading "Control 1". The machine direction total energyabsorbed is given in the column of Table 1 entitled "MD TEA". Themachine direction peak load is given in the column entitled "MD PeakLoad". The machine direction elongation to break is given in the columnentitled "MD Elong". The cross-machine direction total energy absorbedis given in the column entitled "CD TEA". The cross-machine directionpeak load is given in the column entitled "CD Peak Load". Thecross-machine direction elongation to break is given in the columnentitled "CD Elong".

The Peak TEA, Peak Load, and Permanent Set is given for each stretchcycle in Table 2. At the end of the series of cycles, the sample waselongated to break and the results reported under the heading "ToBreak".

Elastic Sheet

A blend of about 63% by weight KRATON G-1657, 20% polyethylene NA-601and 17% REGALREZ 1126 having a melt flow of about 15 grams per tenminutes when measured at 190° C. and under a 2160 gram load; anelongation of about 750%; a modulus of elongation at 100% of about 175psi; and a modulus of elongation at 300% of about 225 psi was formedinto an elastic sheet of meltblown fibers utilizing recessed die tipmeltblowing process equipment having a 0.090 inch recess and a 0.067inch air gap. The equipment was operated under the following conditions:die zone temperature about 540° F.; die polymer melt temperature about535° F.; barrel pressure 580 psig; die pressure 190 psig; polymerthroughput 2 pounds per hour; forming drum vacuum about 2 inches ofwater; horizontal forming distance about 12 inches; vertical formingdistance about 12 inches and winder speed about 19 feet per minute. Anelastic web of meltblown fibers was formed having a basis weight ofabout 105 grams per square meter. The sheet was tested on the InstronModel 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and the results are given inTables 1 and 2 under the leading "Elastomer." Data collected in the lastcycle (i.e. "to 176%") for the elastic sheet control material was readat the break elongation for the composite elastic necked-bonded materialshown as 176% at Table 2 in the "To Break" column and the "perm set" rowfor "Composite 1".

Composite Elastic Neck-Bonded Material

The neckable spunbond polypropylene material having a basis weight of0.8 osy and an initial width of about 17.75 inches was unwound on a "22inch Face Coating Line rewinder" made by the Black-Clawson Company. Thewind-up speed was set at about 4 to about 5 feet per minute and theunwind resistance force was set at 48 pounds per square inch causing thematerial to neck or constrict to a width of about 8.5 to about 8.75inches as it was wound on a roll.

At the wind-up roll, the elastic sheet of meltblown fibers describedabove having a basis weight of about 105 grams per square meter, wasoverlaid on the tensioned, necked material so that the two webs woundtogether on the wind up roll. The elastic sheet had a thin plastic filmon one surface so it would stick to only one adjacent tensioned, neckedlayer of material.

The tightly wound roll was unwound and bonded using an engraved calenderroller having the pattern shown in FIG. 5. The bond pattern of theengraved roller had approximately 75 pins or bond points per squareinch. Each pin had a diameter of about 0.059 inch to produce bond areaof about 20.5 percent. The bond rollers were maintained at roomtemperature (about 75° F.), bond pressure was set at about 20 pounds persquare inch, and the line was operated at a speed of from about 7 toabout 10 feet per minute.

The composite elastic neck-bonded material was tested on the InstronModel 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and the results are given inTables 1 and 2 under the heading "Composite 1".

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 Reversibly Necked Spunbonded material

The neckable spunbonded polypropylene material described above having abasis weight of 0.8 osy and an initial width of about 17.75 inches wasunwound on a "22 inch Face Coating Line rewinder" made by theBlack-Clawson Company. The wind-up speed was set at about 4 to about 5feet per minute and the unwind resistance force was set at 48 pounds persquare inch causing the material to neck or constrict to a width ofabout 8 1/2 to 8 3/4 inches as it was rewound on a roll. The roll ofnecked material was heated in a Fischer Econotemp™ Lab Oven Model 30F at120° C. for 1 hour which was thought to be more than the amount of timerequired to heat the entire roll, i.e., the center of the roll, to theoven temperature for about 300 seconds. This heat treatment formed areversibly necked material from the neckable material. The reversiblynecked material was tested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal TestingInstrument and the results are reported in Tables 1 and 2 under theheading "Heat Set." Necking and heat treating the neckable spunbondedmaterial decreased most tensile properties but increased thecross-machine direction stretch.

Properties of the reversibly necked material are shown in Tables 1 and 2under the heading of "Heat Set". It can been seen by comparing the"Composite 1" with the "Elastomer 1" from the Tables that the neckedlayer of the composite elastic material appears to act as a positivestop, that is, a peak load of 1.69 for "Composite 1" compared to 0.43for "Elastomer 1" at the break elongation of "Composite 1" (176%). Theelastic layer lowers the normalized grab tensile strength data of thecomposite elastic necked-bonded material because the elastic layer addsweight but little strength, especially in the machine direction sincethe necked material has a low elongation to break in that direction.Permanent set is significantly lower in the composite elasticnecked-bonded material than in the reversibly necked material.

EXAMPLE 2 Neckable Spunbonded Material

A neckable spunbonded polypropylene material having a basis weight ofabout 0.4 osy was tested on an Instron Model 1122 Universal TestingInstrument. The results are reported in Table 3 under the headingcontrol 2.

Elastic Sheet

An elastic sheet of meltblown fibers as described in Example 1 andhaving a basis weight of about 70 grams per square meter was tested onan Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument. This elastic sheethad a plastic film on one surface to prevent the rolled-up material fromsticking together. The results are reported in Tables 3 and 4 under theheading "Elastomer 2".

Composite Elastic Necked-Bonded Laminate

The neckable spunbonded polypropylene material and the elastic sheet ofmeltblown fibers were joined on a heated bonder roller arrangement. Thebonder speed was set at 21 feet per minute, nip pressure was 355 poundsper linear inch, and the calender roller and anvil roller temperatureswere set at 127° F. The elastic sheet was unwound from a supply roll ata rate of 21 feet per minute so there would be no tensioning of theelastic sheet. The neckable spunbonded polypropylene material wasunwound from a supply roll at a rate of about 17 feet per minute orabout 20 percent slower than the bonder. The difference in speed createda tension which caused the neckable material to neck before it wasjoined to the elastic sheet.

The composite elastic necked-bonded material produced in this manner wastested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and theresults are given in Tables 3 and 4 under the heading "Composite 2".Compared to the Control material, the composite elastic necked-bondedmaterial has lower tensile properties with equivalent machine directionstretch and significantly greater cross-machine direction stretch.Compared to the elastic sheet, the laminate has lower values for PeakTotal Energy Absorbed (PTEA) but higher Peak Loads when going to break.

In cross-machine direction cycling (Table 4), the laminate has slightlylower PTEA, slightly greater Peak Load and equivalent values forpermanent set. When taken to the break elongation for the laminate, thelaminate has higher PTEA and Peak Load values than the elastomericmaterial.

EXAMPLE 3

A composite elastic necked-bonded material was prepared by joining alayer of the neckable spunbonded polypropylene material of Example 2 toeach side of the elastic meltblown sheet of Example 2.

The neckable spunbonded polypropylene material and the elastic meltblownsheet were joined utilizing a heated bonder roller arrangement. Thebonder speed was set at 21 feet per minute, nip pressure was 355 poundsper linear inch, and the calender roller and anvil roller temperatureswere set at 127° F. The elastic sheet unwind was set at 21 feet perminute so there would be no tensioning of the elastic web. The neckablespunbonded polypropylene material unwinds were manually braked and wereunwound at about 18 feet per minute.

The composite elastic necked-bonded material produced in this manner wastested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument. Resultsfor the Grab Tensile Test for the Control materials and the compositeelastic material are given in Table 5 under the respective headings"Control 3" and "Composite 3A". Compared to the neckable spunbondedcontrol material, all Grab Tensile Test results were lower for thecomposite elastic material except for the machine direction elongationwhich remained unchanged and the cross-machine direction elongationwhich is significantly increased. Compared to the elastic sheet, thecomposite elastic necked-bonded material has lower values for Peak TotalEnergy Absorbed and Elongation but greater values for Peak Loads. Table6 shows the cross-machine direction stretching for the Elastomer 2 andComposite 3A demonstrating considerably greater Peak TEA and Peak Loadduring the final cycle.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

A composite elastic material was prepared in which a layer of theneckable spunbonded polypropylene material of Example 2 was joined toeach side of the elastic meltblown sheet of Example 2 except that theneckable material was not necked.

The neckable spunbonded polypropylene material and the meltblown elasticsheet were joined utilizing a heated bonder roller arrangement. Thebonder speed was set at 21 feet per minute, nip pressure was 355 poundsper linear inch, and the calender roller and anvil roller temperatureswere set at 127° F. The elastic sheet unwind was set at 21 feet perminute so there would be no tensioning of the elastic web. The neckablespunbonded polypropylene materials were unwound at about 21 feet perminute. No force was applied to brake any of the unwinds. Consequently,the neckable spunbonded materials were not necked and the elastic sheetwas not stretched.

The composite elastic material produced in this manner was tested on theInstron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and the results aregiven in Table 7 under the heading "Composite 3B". When compared toComposite 3A produced with the same materials at the same processconditions except that the spunbonded sheets were necked in forComposite 3A, properties were not changed much except the cross-machinedirection elongation was significantly increased.

EXAMPLE 4

A neckable spunbonded polypropylene material was necked in two stagesand then joined to each side of an elastic meltblown sheet utilizing athermal bonder to produce a composite elastic necked-bonded material.

Two rolls of a neckable spunbonded polypropylene material having a basisweight of about 0.4 osy and an initial width of about 32 inches werewound on a Camachine 10 rewinder made by Cameron Machine Company ofBrookland, N.Y. The wind-up roll was operated at a speed of about 42feet per minute and the unwind roll operated at a speed of about 35 feetper minute causing the material to neck to a width of about 18 inches.

The two rolls of neckable spunbonded polypropylene having a necked widthof about 18 inches were run through the "22 inch Face Pilot CoatingLine" made by the Black-Clawson Company, Fulton, N.Y. The unwind rollwas operated at a speed of about 5 feet per minute and the winderoperated at a speed of from about 5 to about 8 feet per minute tofurther neck the spunbonded material to a final width of about 13.5 toabout 14 inches: The two rolls of necked spunbonded material were put onthe top and bottom positions of a three position roll unwind apparatus.The roll of elastic meltblown sheet from Example 2 was placed on themiddle position.

The necked spunbonded material and the elastic meltblown sheet werejoined utilizing a heated bonder roller arrangement. The bonder speedwas set at 18 feet per minute, nip pressure was 355 pounds per linearinch, and the calender roller and anvil roller temperatures were set at127° F. The elastic sheet unwind was set at 21 feet per minute so therewould be no tensioning of the elastic web. The necked spunbondedmaterial unwinds were set at about 19 feet per minute so that enoughtension was created to keep the necked spunbonded material in the neckedcondition.

The composite elastic necked-bonded material produced in this manner wastested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and theresults are given in Tables 8 and 9 under the heading "Composite 4".Compared to the elastic sheet, the composite elastic material has lowervalues for machine direction stretch and Peak Total Energy Absorbed andconsiderably higher peak load values (Table 8). Cycling values (Table 9)showed little change except at the breaking point of the compositeelastic material where the peak load was about 5 times that of the pureelastomer.

EXAMPLE 5 Composite Elastic Neck-Bonded Material Having a MeltblownElastic Layer Formed Directly on a Necked Material

A neckable spunbonded polypropylene material having a basis weight ofabout 0.4 osy was unwound from a braked unwind roll at a speed ofapproximately 16 feet per minute and fed on to the forming drum of ameltblowing apparatus operating at a rate of 20 feet per minute. Thedifference in speed caused the material to constrict to about 35 percentof its original width.

A pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive web of meltblown fibers having abasis weight of about 40 grams per square meter was formed directly onthe tensioned, necked material. The meltblown fibers were formed from ablend of about 63% by weight KRATON G-1657, 20% polyethylene NA-601 and17% REGALREZ 1126 having a melt flow of about 15 grams per ten minuteswhen measured at 190° C. and under a 2160 gram load; an elongation ofabout 750%; a modulus of elongation at 100% of about 175 psi; and amodulus of elongation at 300% of about 225 psi utilizing meltblowingequipment having a 0.090 inch recess and a 0.067 inch air gap die tiparrangement. The meltblowing process equipment operated under thefollowing conditions: die zone temperature about 500° F.; die polymermelt temperature about 493° F.; barrel pressure 320 psig; die pressure151 psig; polymer throughput 0.9 pounds per hour; forming drum vacuumabout 3 inches of water; horizontal forming distance about 12 inches;vertical forming distance about 14 inches and winder speed about 20 feetper minute.

The composite elastic neck-bonded material formed in this manner wastested on an Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument. Theresults are reported in Tables 10 and 11 under the heading "MeltblownLaminate."

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 5

A neckable spunbonded polypropylene material having a basis weight ofabout 0.4 osy was joined to an elastic web of meltblown fibers having abasis weight of about 70 grams per square meter utilizing a heatedbonder roller arrangement according to the procedure of Example 2. Thebonder speed was set at 21 feet per minute, nip pressure was 355 poundsper linear inch, and the calender roller and anvil roller temperatureswere set at 127° F. The elastic web unwind was set at 21 feet per minuteso that there would be no tensioning of the elastic web. The spunbondedpolypropylene web unwind was set at 21 feet per minute but force wasapplied to the unwind brake so the unwind operated at about 17 feet perminute or about 20 percent slower than the bonder.

The composite elastic necked-bonded material produced in this manner wastested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and theresults are given in Tables 10 and 11 under the heading "Composite 5".

Because the elastic component of the thermally bonded composite materialhad a basis weight that was approximately 50 percent greater than thebasis weight of the elastic component of the meltblown compositematerial, the values for Peak Total Energy Absorbed in the Grab TensileTests, and the Peak Total Energy Absorbed and Peak Load for cycling areconsiderably higher than the meltblown composite material. When taken"to Break", the peak loads are similar because of the contribution bythe necked spunbonded material.

EXAMPLE 6

A neckable spunbonded polypropylene material having a basis weight ofabout 0.4 ounces per square yard and an initial width of about 40 incheswas necked to a width of about 19 inches and run under a film extrusionapparatus at a rate of 130 feet per minute. A film was formed from ablend of about 63% by weight KRATON G-1657, 20% polyethylene NA-601 and17% REGALREZ 1126. Added to the blend was about 2 percent by weightAmpacet White concentrate Type 41171 Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) pigmentavailable from the Ampacet Corporation, Mt. Vernon, N.Y. The blend had amelt flow of about 15 grams per ten minutes when measured at 190° C. andunder a 2160 gram load; an elongation of about 750%; a modulus ofelongation at 100% of about 175 psi; and a modulus of elongation at 300%of about 225 psi and was extruded on the spunbonded polypropylene web ata rate of about 5.4 pounds per inch per hour. The thickness of theextruded film was about 1 mil.

The composite elastic necked-bonded material produced in this manner wastested on the Instron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and theresults are given in Tables 12 and 13 under the heading "Composite 6".The test results of the composite material formed by meltblowing anelastic web onto the tensioned, necked material (Example 5) are alsoshown in the tables for comparison. The KRATON G film appears to givemuch more strength to the composite elastic necked-bonded material thanthe elastic web of meltblown fibers. It can be seen that the values forthe cycling Peak Total Energy Absorbed and Peak Load are from 400 to 500percent greater for the material having the 1 mil extruded elastic filmthan for the material having a meltblown web. The values measured "toBreak" are about 50 to 100 percent greater for the material having themil extruded film than for the material having a meltblown web.

EXAMPLE 7

Two neckable webs of spunbonded polypropylene having basis weights ofabout 0.4 osy were joined to each side of an elastic meltblown webaccording to the procedure of Comparative Example 3. The neckablematerial remained un-necked and the resulting composite material was nota composite elastic necked-bonded material. The neckable spunbondedpolypropylene material and the composite material were tested on theInstron Model 1122 Universal Testing Instrument and the results aregiven in Table 14 under the respective headings Control 7A, Control 7B,Composite 7, and Normalized Composite 7.

The test results normalized for the total basis weight show that thecomposite material formed in this manner is much weaker than theneckable spunbonded materials, that is, Composite 7 versus Control 7Aand 7B. However, if the test results are normalized to eliminate theweight contribution of the elastic meltblown web, the test results forthe composite material are comparable to the neckable spunbondedmaterials, that is, Spunbond Normalized Composite 7 versus Control 7Aand 7B. In view of these results, the elastic layer makes littlecontribution to the measured Grab Tensile Test properties of thecomposite material when the composite material has a maximum elongationthat is much less than the elongation of the elastic material.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is one of a group of commonly assigned patentapplications which are being filed on the same date. The group includesapplication Ser. No. 07/249,050 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,127 in the nameof Michael T. Morman and entitled "Reversibly Necked Material andProcess to Make It"; and application Ser. No. 07/248,833 now U.S. Pat.No. 4,981,747 entitled "Composite Elastic Material Including aReversibly Necked Material" and also in the name of Michael T. Morman.The subject matter of these applications is hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

Disclosure of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention isintended to illustrate and not to limit the invention. It is understoodthat those of skill in the art should be capable of making numerousmodifications without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                ______________________________________                                                     Control 1                                                                              Heat Set                                                ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.05 ± .11                                                                             .25 ± .02                                       MD Peak Load    15.8 ± 1.25                                                                          12 ± 3                                           MD Elong       46 ± 2  16 ± 1                                           CD TEA          .89 ± .22                                                                             .26 ± .06                                       CD Peak Load   13.2 ± 1.9                                                                            3.7 ± .6                                         CD Elong       50 ± 7  143 ± 10                                         ______________________________________                                                     Elastomer 1                                                                            Composite 1                                             ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.22 ± .13                                                                             .13 ± .03                                       MD Peak Load   1.36 ± .09                                                                             2.8 ± .24                                       MD Elong       581 ± 40                                                                              30 ± 3                                           CD TEA         .84 ± .2                                                                               .32 ± .04                                       CD Peak Load    .93 ± .12                                                                            1.66 ± .22                                       CD Elong       574 ± 95                                                                              204 ± 11                                         ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 2                                     __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE:                                                                              1     2     3     4                                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Control 1, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 38% CD elongation                                       To Break                                        Peak TEA                                                                            .932 ± .02                                                                       .28 ± .01                                                                         .24 ± .005                                                                      .21 ± .01                                                                         .50 ± .26                                   Peak Load                                                                           13.8 ± .2                                                                        11.8 ± .3                                                                        11.0 ± .1                                                                        10.4 ± .3                                                                        13.8 ± 1.7                                   Perm. Set                                                                           45. ± 3                                                                          49 ± 2                                                                           53 ± 1                                                                           55 ± 1                                                                           45 ± 4                                       Heat Set, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 80% CD elongation          Peak TEA                                                                            .014 ± .001                                                                      .004 ± .001                                                                      .002 ± .001                                                                      .002 ± .001                                                                      .37 ± .12                                    Peak Load                                                                           .21 ± .01                                                                        .19 ± .01                                                                        .18 ± .01                                                                        .18 ± .01                                                                        4.06 ± .65                                   Perm. Set                                                                           22 ± 1                                                                           25 ± 1                                                                           28 ±  1                                                                          37 ± 3                                                                           143 ± 7                                      Composite 1, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 109% CD elongation      Peak TEA                                                                            .10 ± .01                                                                         .06 ± .005                                                                       .06 ± .005                                                                      .053 ± .005                                                                      .285 ± .04                                   Peak Load                                                                           .528 ± .08                                                                       .48 ± .06                                                                        .47 ± .05                                                                        .46 ± .06                                                                        1.69 ± .2                                    Perm. Set                                                                           9 ± 1                                                                            10 ± .5                                                                          11.2 ± 1                                                                         11.4 ± 3                                                                         176 ± 12                                     Elastomer 1, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 109% CD elongation                                    To 176%                                         Peak TEA                                                                            .076 ± .001                                                                      .056 ± .001                                                                      .054 ± .001                                                                      .052 ± .001                                                                      .sup.     .13 ± .01(N = 2)                   Peak Load                                                                           .344 ± .004                                                                       .33 ± .004                                                                       .32 ± .003                                                                      .317 ± .004                                                                      .sup.     .43 ± .01(N = 2)                   Perm. Set                                                                           8 ± 0                                                                            9 ± 0                                                                            10 ± 0                                                                           10.8 ± .4                                          __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                ______________________________________                                                     Control 2                                                                              Composite 2                                             ______________________________________                                        MD TEA          .96 ± .24                                                                             .35 ± .05                                       MD Peak Load    15.2 ± 2.75                                                                          4.57 ± .2                                        MD Elong       42.5 ± 6                                                                               50 ± 5                                          CD TEA         1.08 ± .38                                                                             .54 ± .15                                       CD Peak Load   14.1 ± 2.7                                                                            2.45 ± .3                                        CD Elong       53 ± 8   217 ± 23                                        ______________________________________                                                     Elastomer 2                                                      ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.12 ± .34                                                  MD Peak Load   1.54 ± .17                                                  MD Elong       427 ± 93                                                    CD TEA          .83 ± .03                                                  CD Peak Load   1.22 ± .05                                                  CD Elong       407 ± 17                                                    ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 4                                     __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE:                                                                              1      2      3      4                                                  __________________________________________________________________________    Elastomer 2, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 129% CD elongation                                       To 235%                                      Peak TEA                                                                             .17 ± .006                                                                        .11 ± .004                                                                        .10 ± .004                                                                        .10 ± .004                                                                       .33 ± .03                                Peak Load                                                                           .60 ± .02                                                                          .55 ± .02                                                                         .54 ± .02                                                                        .53 ± .02                                                                        .765 ± .06                                Perm. Set                                                                           8 ± 0                                                                              10 ± .5                                                                           11 ± .5                                                                          13 ± 2                                          Composite 2, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 122% CD elongation                                       To Break                                     Peak TEA                                                                            .154 ± .02                                                                        .086 ± .01                                                                        .078 ± .01                                                                        .074 ± .005                                                                       .72 ± .15                                Peak Load                                                                           .96 ± .26                                                                         .854 ± .21                                                                         .82 ± .21                                                                        .79 ± .20                                                                        2.74 ± .38                                Perm. Set                                                                           9 ± 1                                                                             11 ± 1                                                                            13 ± 2                                                                            14 ± 2                                                                           218 ± 24                                  __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                ______________________________________                                                     Control 5                                                                              Composite 3A                                            ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         .96 ± .24                                                                              .34 ± .06                                       MD Peak Load   15.2 ± 2.75                                                                           4.7 ± .6                                         MD Elong       42.5 ± 6                                                                              55 ± 4                                           CD TEA          1.08 ± 0.38                                                                           .48 ± .08                                       CD Peak Load   14.1 ± 2.7                                                                            4.3 ± .4                                         CD Elong       53 ± 8  97 ± 8                                           ______________________________________                                                     Elastomer 2                                                      ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.12 ± .34                                                  MD Peak Load   1.54 ± .17                                                  MD Elong       427 ± 93                                                    CD TEA          .83 ± .03                                                  CD Peak Load   1.22 ± .05                                                  CD Elong       407 ± 17                                                    ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 6                                     __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE: 1      2     3      4                                                  __________________________________________________________________________    Elastomer 2, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 60% CD elongation                                        To 90%                                       Peak TEA                                                                             .067 ± .002                                                                       .048 ± .002                                                                      .046 ± .001                                                                       .045 ± .002                                                                      .103 ± .002                               Peak Load                                                                            .553 ± .01                                                                        .517 ± .012                                                                      .50 ± .01                                                                         .50 ± .01                                                                        .65 ± .01                                 Perm. Set                                                                            7 ± 0                                                                             8 ± 0                                                                            8 ± 0                                                                             9 ± 1                                           Composite 3A, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 55% CD elongation                                       To Break                                     Peak TEA                                                                             .19 ± .04                                                                         .082 ± .02                                                                       .07 ± .01                                                                         .065 ± .01                                                                       .484 ± .06                                Peak Load                                                                            2.66 ± .35                                                                        2.37 ± .33                                                                       2.24 ± .31                                                                        2.16 ± .28                                                                       4.08 ± .35                                Perm. Set                                                                            18 ± 1                                                                            20 ±  2                                                                          22 ± 3                                                                            24 ± 2                                                                           91 ± 4                                    __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 7                                                         ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                             Composite 3B                                                                           Composite 3A                                            ______________________________________                                        MD TEA          .43 ± .07                                                                             .34 ± .06                                       MD Peak Load    5.8 ± .51                                                                            4.7 ± .6                                         MD Elong       52 ± 6  55 ± 4                                           CD TEA          .41 ± .09                                                                             .48 ± .08                                       CD Peak Load   5.25 ± .75                                                                            4.3 ± .4                                         CD Elong       55 ± 5  97 ± 8                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 8                                                         ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                             Elastomer 2                                                                            Composite 4                                             ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.12 ± .34                                                                             .33 ± .06                                       MD Peak Load   1.54 ± .17                                                                             5.8 ± .49                                       MD Elong       427 ± 93                                                                              48 ± 4                                           CD TEA          .83 ± .03                                                                             .60 ± .09                                       CD Peak Load   1.22 ± .05                                                                            3.1 ± .5                                         CD Elong       407 ± 17                                                                              229 ± 12                                         ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 9                                     __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE: 1      2     3      4                                                  __________________________________________________________________________    Elastomer 2, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 129% CD elongation                                       To 235%                                      Peak TEA                                                                              .17 ± .006                                                                        .11 ± .004                                                                       .10 ± .004                                                                        .10 ± .004                                                                      .33 ± .03                                 Peak Load                                                                            .60 ± .02                                                                         .55 ± .02                                                                        .54 ± .02                                                                         .53 ± .02                                                                        .76 ± .06                                 Perm. Set                                                                            8 ± 0                                                                             10 ± 1                                                                           11 ± 1                                                                            13 ± 2                                          Composite 4, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 129% CD elongation                                       To Break                                     Peak TEA                                                                             .175 ± .025                                                                       .08 ± .01                                                                         .07 ± .004                                                                        .07 ± .004                                                                      .85 ± .07                                 Peak Load                                                                            .89 ± .2                                                                          .77 ± .2                                                                         .71 ± .16                                                                         .69 ± .14                                                                        3.60 ± .5                                 Perm. Set                                                                            13 ± 1                                                                            15 ± 1                                                                           15 ± 1                                                                            18 ± 1                                                                           235 ± 14                                  __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 10                                                        ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                                      Meltblown                                                            Composite 5                                                                            Laminate                                                ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         .35 ± .05                                                                              .17 ± .04                                       MD Peak Load   4.57 ± .21                                                                             4.3 ± .35                                       MD Elong       50 ± 5  24 ± 3                                           CD TEA          .54 ± .15                                                                             .38 ± .03                                       CD Peak Load   2.45 ± .31                                                                            2.4 ± .2                                         CD Elong       217 ± 23                                                                              210 ± 10                                         ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 11                                    __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE: 1      2     3      4     To Break                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Composite 5, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 122% CD elongation      Peak TEA                                                                             .154 ± .02                                                                        .086 ± .01                                                                       .078 ± .008                                                                       .074 ± .005                                                                      .719 ± .15                                Peak Load                                                                            .96 ± .26                                                                         .85 ± .21                                                                        .82 ± .21                                                                         .80 ± .20                                                                        2.74 ± .4                                 Perm. Set                                                                            9 ± 1                                                                             11 ± 1                                                                           13 ± 2                                                                            14 ± 2                                                                           218 ± 24                                  Meltblown Laminate, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 119% CD          elongation                                                                    Peak TEA                                                                             .089 ± .01                                                                        .051 ± .005                                                                      .047 ±.004                                                                        .045 ± .004                                                                      .512 ± .064                               Peak Load                                                                            .429 ± .04                                                                        .379 ± .04                                                                       .36 ± .03                                                                         .35 ± .03                                                                        2.5 ± .14                                 Perm. Set                                                                            10 ± 1                                                                            12 ± 1                                                                           13 ± 1                                                                            19 ± 6                                                                           218 ±  10                                 __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 12                                                        ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                             Meltblown                                                                     Laminate Composite 6                                             ______________________________________                                        MD TEA          .17 ± .04                                                                             .28 ± .08                                       MD Peak Load    4.3 ± .35                                                                            5.7 ± .4                                         MD Elong       24 ± 3  34 ± 7                                           CD TEA          .38 ± .03                                                                             .96 ± .13                                       CD Peak Load   2.4 ± .2                                                                              3.9 ± .3                                         CD Elong       210 ± 10                                                                              215 ± 16                                         ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 13                                    __________________________________________________________________________    CYCLE: 1      2     3      4     To Break                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Meltblown Laminate 1, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 119% CD        elongation                                                                    Peak TEA                                                                             .09 ± .01                                                                         .051 ± .005                                                                      .047 ± .004                                                                       .045 ± .004                                                                      .51 ± .06                                 Peak Load                                                                            .43 ± .04                                                                         .38 ± .03                                                                        .36 ± .03                                                                         .35 ± .03                                                                        2.50 ± .14                                Perm. Set                                                                            10 ± 1                                                                            12 ± 1                                                                           13 ± 1                                                                            19 ± 6                                                                           219 ± 10                                  Composite 6, Cycled in the cross-machine direction at 121% CD elongation      Peak TEA                                                                             .436 ± .03                                                                        .214 ± .01                                                                       .20 ± .01                                                                         .19 ± .01                                                                        .93 ± .11                                 Peak Load                                                                            1.98 ± .3                                                                         1.80 ± .29                                                                       1.72 ± .29                                                                        1.67 ± .28                                                                       3.84 ± .21                                Perm. Set                                                                            10 ± 1                                                                            11 ± 1                                                                           12 ± 1                                                                            13 ± 1                                                                           196 ± 15                                  __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 14                                                        ______________________________________                                        GRAB TENSILES:                                                                ______________________________________                                                     Control 7A                                                                             Control 7B                                              ______________________________________                                        MD TEA          .88 ± .26                                                                            1.05 ± .2                                        MD Peak Load   15.9 ± 4                                                                              14.5 ± 2                                         MD Elong       37 ± 5  48 ± 7                                           CD TEA         .90 ± .36                                                                             1.25 ± .4                                        CD Peak Load   12.7 ± 3                                                                              15.5 ± 2.6                                       CD Elong       51 ± 8  55 ± 8                                           ______________________________________                                                              Spunbond                                                                      Normalized                                                           Composite 7                                                                            Composite 7                                             ______________________________________                                        MD TEA          .43 ± .07                                                                            1.33 ± .22                                       MD Peak Load    5.8 ± .51                                                                              18 ± 1.58                                      MD Elong       52 ± 6  --                                                  CD TEA          .41 ± .09                                                                            1.27 ± .28                                       CD Peak Load   5.25 ± .75                                                                            16.3 ± 2.3                                       CD Elong       55 ± 5  --                                                  ______________________________________                                                     Elastomer 2                                                      ______________________________________                                        MD TEA         1.12 ± .34                                                  MD Peak Load   1.54 ± .17                                                  MD Elong       427 ± 93                                                    CD TEA          .83 ± .03                                                  CD Peak Load   1.22 ± .05                                                  CD Elong       407 ± 17                                                    ______________________________________                                    

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing a composite elasticnecked-bonded material comprising:providing at least one neckablenonelastic material; applying a tensioning force to the neckablenonelastic material to neck said material; superposing the neckednonelastic material on an elastic sheet; and joining said tensioned,necked nonelastic material and said elastic sheet at least at twoplaces.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said elastic sheet is anelastic web of meltblown fibers.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein saidelastic sheet comprises an elastomeric polymer selected from the groupconsisting of elastic polyesters, elastic polyurethanes, elasticpolyamides, and elastic A-B-A' block copolymers wherein A and A' are thesame or different thermoplastic polymer, and wherein B is an elastomericpolymer block.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein said meltblown fibersincludes meltblown microfibers.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein saidneckable material is a material selected from the group consisting ofknitted fabrics and loosely woven fabrics.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein said neckable material is a web selected from the groupconsisting of a bonded carded web of fibers, a web of spunbonded fibers,a web of meltblown fibers, and a multilayer material including at leastone of said webs.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said fibers comprisea polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyesters,and polyamides.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said polyolefin isselected from the group consisting of one or more of polyethylene,polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers,and butene copolymers.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said neckablematerial is a composite material comprising a mixture of fibers and oneor more other materials selected from the group consisting of wood pulp,staple fibers, particulates and super-absorbent materials.
 10. Themethod of claim 6 wherein said meltblown web includes meltblownmicrofibers.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein said elastic sheet isformed directly on said tensioned, necked nonelastic material.
 12. Amethod of producing a composite elastic necked-bonded materialcomprising:providing at least one neckable nonelastic nonwoven webselected from the group consisting of a bonded carded web of fibers, aweb of spunbonded fibers, a web of meltblown fibers, and a multilayermaterial including at least one of said webs; applying a tensioningforce to the neckable nonelastic nonwoven web to neck said material;superposing the necked material on a pressure sensitive elastomeradhesive sheet; and joining said tensioned, necked material and saidpressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet by winding them togetheronto a wind-up roll so that the tensioning force from said neckedmaterial activates the pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet andbonds the necked material to the sheet.
 13. The method of claim 12wherein the pressure sensitive elastomeric adhesive nonwoven web ofmeltblown fibers is formed directly on the tensioned, necked nonelasticnonwoven web.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the pressure sensitiveelastomeric adhesive nonwoven web of meltblown fibers includesmicrofibers.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein said elastic sheet is apressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein said pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive sheet is formed froma blend of an elastomeric polymer and a tackifying resin.
 17. The methodof claim 16 wherein said blend further includes a polyolefin.
 18. Themethod of claim 15 wherein said pressure sensitive elastomer adhesivesheet is a pressure sensitive elastomer adhesive web of meltblownfibers.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein said meltblown fibers includemeltblown microfibers.